Buckle

ABSTRACT

The buckle is ideal for all purposes that require fastening. Not limited to headwear, the buckle is used to enclose and fasten an open aperture for different individual head sizes. The multipurpose buckle is an ideal fastener for those individuals who participate in active outdoor leisure where the fastener might come undone inadvertently due to excessive sweat and body movement. Because of its small, compact and lightweight form, the buckle allows easy placement along the area to which need fastening while conforming with the surface of the individual&#39;s body.

[0001] This non-provisional application is being claimed the benefits of an earlier provisional application; application No. 60/441,182 filed Jan. 21, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a buckle. More specifically, the invention relates to a buckle used to enclose and fasten an open aperture for the individual head size for all available headwear. The buckle can be easily opened and closed without much effort while providing a comfortable and painless hold around the individual's head. The invention is ideal for all individuals who partake in active outdoor leisure, requiring them to wear a headwear of some sort; where the fastener of the headwear might come undone inadvertently due to sweat or excessive movement of the body.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] Current industries have been trying to find a solution for the perfect headwear fastener. Throughout the years, various different types of hats are known in the prior art. For sports and physical activities, the common type of hat must help sustain maximum head comfort in an all weather atmosphere.

[0006] Prior art hats have included adjustable buckle straps placed along the back of the hat or a plastic snap arrangement by where the strap consists of holes that snap directly onto a receiving snap receiver. More often than not, the bulky buckle strap causes pressure along the back of the wearer's head causing pain whilst the plastic snap arrangement breaks and tears off, ruining the entirety of the hat. In response to this situation, better fasteners have been created to answer the foreseeing problems caused by the buckle and plastic snap fasteners. One solution that the industry came out with was the invention of Velcro. Velcro straps that uses a hook and loop fasteners was introduced to tackle and answer the question that its predecessors could not. Being a lightweight material, it eased the pressure that the individual felt while wearing his/her hat. Another useful advantage for Velcro (hook and loop) was its ease of use and malleability. The hook and loop fastener could be easily fixated along the back aperture of the hat. With its advantages, Velcro (hook and loop) has its disadvantages. One major disadvantage with this strap is that the fastened element are more often than not undone inadvertently, causing the hat to fall off from the individual's head. One idea for such a fall out of the hat may be due to the sweat caused by the individual wearer. During excessive physical exercise or any outdoor activities, the Velcro (hook and loop) strap absorbs the sweat from the wearer causing the hook and loop to become undone and causing the hat to fall off from the wearer's head. As this occurs for a numerous amount of time during his/her physical activity, not only will the hat get dirty, but the shell of the hat gets distorted and wrinkled, thus ruining the hat altogether. Another idea for the hat to come off is due to the natural atmospheric events caused by airborne dusts. Dusts and other atmospheric particles gets entangled in the loop portion of the fastener causing the hook to be ‘stickless’ with the loop. This in turn will cause the hat to come off.

[0007] Other prior art hats have included multi-sized hats that perfectly fit the individual head circumference, making the fastener obsolete altogether. One example of a known multi-sized hat that have made great strides in foreseeing this problem is U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,540 by Cho. In this patent, a free size hat is disclosed to have a woven material that uniaxially stretches in only one direction. In order for the cap to be truly comfortable on the head of the individual and from causing it not to fall off, it is desirable for the hat to be breathable and not a tight fit. U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,202 by Yan also depicts and foresees the problem by making the hat multi-axially stretchable. The patent claims to have some plurality of gores composed of multi-axially stretchable fabric having a stretchable synthetic fiber woven in the warp and weft of the said fabric. Although Yan improves the patent by Cho, Yan does not argue the developments from the hat from falling off. During physical and strenuous exercise, the individual must be able to keep a total focus on his routine and not worry about the hat from falling off. Yan only argues to alleviate pressure from the wearer's head in his patent.

[0008] In most cases, hat wearers will often wear a hat that is most comfortable and suited to the individual. Whether the hat is worn forwards or backwards, the ideal hat must satisfy the individual providing the most comfort and fit as possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The invention relates to a buckle used to enclose and fasten an open aperture for all available headwear. Although the primary usage for the buckle will be for headwear, the invention is not limited to this alone. The buckle can be used for all and any apparel clothing where a fastener is required to provide a tight, secure and comfortable fit. The invention is ideal for all individuals who partake in active outdoor leisure, where the fastener of the headwear might come undone inadvertently due to sweat or excessive movement of the body. Moreover, the invention is small, compact and light for easy placement at the back of the headwear that conforms with the surface of the individual's head without causing pressure and pain.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0010]FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art for a standard regular hat;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a rear view of a prior art for a standard regular hat with a slide and loop fastener;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a rear view of a prior art for a standard regular hat with a plastic snap arrangement fastener;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a rear view of a prior art for a standard regular hat with a Velcro (hook and loop) fastener;

[0014]FIG. 5 is a rear view of a prior art for a standard regular hat with a buckle fastener;

[0015]FIG. 6 is a rear view of a standard regular hat with the inventive buckle fastener;

[0016]FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the inventive buckle in its closed position;

[0017]FIG. 8 is the top portion of the inventive buckle;

[0018]FIG. 9 is the bottom portion of the inventive buckle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is that of a newly inventive buckle used to enclose and fasten an open aperture for hats. The buckle consists of two portions; a top portion for holding the strap in position and a bottom portion for enclosing and supporting the strap. As seen in FIG. 6, the buckle is attached at the rear of the hat. The mechanism consists of a top portion with a right hinge 53 and a left hinge 56. In between the two said hinges are the ‘teeth’ 58 that holds the strap firmly in position. At the receiving end of the top portion of the buckle is the bottom portion of the buckle. The bottom portion consist of the a right receiving hinge 64 for the right hinge 53 and a left receiving hinge 67 for the left hinge 56. Once the two hinges are placed in their appropriate positions, the buckle is free to move in a latching upward and downward position. An open area 69 is available to hold the entire buckle in position. 

What is claimed in the invention:
 1. The top portion of the buckle consisting of a right and left hinge.
 2. The top portion of the buckle consisting of a roughed edge shaped in the form of a saw teeth.
 3. The bottom portion of the buckle consisting of a right and left receiving hinges.
 4. The bottom portion of the buckle consisting of an open area. The percentage width of the open area ranges from 0.01% to 50.00% and the percentage length of the open area ranges from 0.01% to 99.00%. 